Fairlie Bakehouse
The Fairlie Bakehouse is a bakery in Fairlie, New Zealand. The bakery is most famous for producing gourmet meat pies. Popular varieties include salmon and bacon, venison and cranberry, and steak. Their most popular variety is a pork belly and apple sauce pie, with a piece of crackling on the top.[1]
The bakery was opened in 2010 by Austrian-born chef Franz Lieber.[2][3] As of 2020[update], at peak the bakery produces around 2500 pies a day, and uses 6 tonnes (13,000 lb) of pork a month.[4] Pies are sold from the premises, and are also sold wholesale to supermarkets around the South Island. The bakery has become a popular stopping place for travellers on the road between Lake Tekapo and Timaru,[5] in part due to positive reviews on tourism review website Tripadvisor.[6]
In 2014 the bakery produced a "ram pie" (made with lamb) to celebrate the Mackenzie Rugby Club making it to the semifinals of the Hamersley trophy competition.[7]
The business won the People's Choice Award from the South Canterbury Chamber of Commerce in 2012, 2013, 2015 and 2018, and a regional hospitality industry award in 2013.[8][2] In 2024 Fairlie Bakehouse pies were used in a pie-eating contest by the Aoraki Foundation.[9]
The bakery has never won an award at the Bakel's New Zealand Pie Awards. Owner Franz Lieber has previously declined to enter the competition due to a perception that South Island bakeries are at a disadvantage.[10]
The bakery employs 65 staff in Fairlie,[4] which has a population of under 1000.[11]
References
[edit]- ^ Kerr-Laurie, Brett (19 January 2024), "The Press Picks: Tastiest pies on the Mainland", The Press, retrieved 15 July 2024
- ^ a b Mohanlall, Samesh (12 May 2020), "Fairlie Bakehouse as easy as pie for Franz Lieber", Stuff, archived from the original on 1 September 2022, retrieved 23 June 2024
- ^ "Fairlie good pies get worldwide attention", Newshub, 11 January 2016, archived from the original on 13 April 2024, retrieved 15 July 2024
- ^ a b "Fairlie Bakehouse: The pies have it", RNZ, 31 July 2023, archived from the original on 31 July 2023, retrieved 23 June 2024
- ^ Downes, Siobhan (13 July 2021), "Our state pieways: New Zealand's best small town bakeries to stop at", Stuff, archived from the original on 24 December 2023, retrieved 23 June 2024
- ^ Hyde, Chris (7 January 2016), "Queues out the door every day this summer at Fairlie Bakehouse", Stuff, archived from the original on 11 November 2020, retrieved 15 July 2024
- ^ Thyne, Natasha (9 July 2014), "'Ram' pies to hail Mackenzie rugby guys", Stuff, retrieved 23 June 2024
- ^ Littlewood, Matthew (5 September 2013), "Firms win awards for excellence", Stuff, retrieved 23 June 2024
- ^ "Piece of the pie: team celebrated", Otago Daily Times, 14 March 2024, archived from the original on 27 March 2024, retrieved 15 July 2024
- ^ Brookes, Emily (6 August 2023), "Where are all the South Island pies in the Bakels NZ Pie Awards?", Stuff, archived from the original on 28 October 2023, retrieved 15 July 2024
- ^ "Aotearoa Data Explorer". Statistics New Zealand. Retrieved 26 October 2024.